Crying for the dead
by TearsForTheDead
Summary: What if Zuko didn't survive Azula's lightning? Starts right after Katara chained Azula. Could be read both as Zutara and not. If you ship it, you can read, if you don't, I don't know any reason you couldn't read it.
1. Chapter 1

After Katara was done with Azula, who was now yelling and crying out of her insanity, she ran like hell, right over to Zuko. When she was besides him, she kneeled down. Her legs soaking in his blood that was pooling around him. Katara knew Zuko was losing too much blood, and she would have to heal him fast if she wanted to save him. "Zuko?" Katara asked, wanting to know if he was conscious or not. When he didn't respond nor did he move it made Katara even more eager to heal him and as soon as possible.

She bent the water from her water skin around her hand and put both of her hands on Zuko's chest where his wound was. "K- Katara," she heard Zuko say, and as he did, her head immediately turned to face him. She smiled at him and felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. She continued trying to heal him, in hopes of it actually working.

Even Zuko was hoping something to happen, but he already knew that since after about a minute of Katara trying to heal him and nothing happening, that he would not see the sun rising again. Nor would he feel the fire within him awakening when the sun would rise. Zuko knew that he was running out of time.

"Katara, stop." He managed to get out in barley above a whisper. Katara did stop. But when she did, she looked at him with an expression that held a lot of emotions, confusion, shock, panic, sadness, empathy and even anger.

She opened her mouth to say something, but didn't manage to get anything out. But when she finally did, her voice was broken and fragile. "No! Zuko, you're gonna be fine! I- I'm gonna heal you! You're gonna be fine!" After this she tried to continue healing him, but only to be stopped by Zuko taking her hand in his with all his strength he had left. "Katara, we both k-know I'm not g-gonna make it." He told her. The tears started to travel down her cheeks now like raindrops. Zuko too felt a single tear forming, but he didn't let it escape. He tried smiling, only partly succeeding. "No, don't say that! You- you're gonna make it!" She cried, desperately trying to think of something, anything, that would save Zuko. But she indeed did know there was nothing left for her to do. They both knew it.

"Would you, d-do me a f-fa-favor?" Zuko asked her. She nodded her head fast while squeezing his hand, like it would make everything better. "Of course! Anything!"

"Tell my uncle to open his tea shop," He stopped for a moment when he realized that he was losing all feeling from his legs and arms, not that there was much to begin with, but even the little feeling he did have left was leaving them fast.

"And also ask him to find someone else t-to be th-the FireLord. I k-know he- he doesn't wa-want to be it." He continued his voice even quieter. "Tell him I love him." Zuko added. Katara was now sobbing and nodding and trying to smile all at the same time. "An-And tell ev-everyone they did g-good. And th-thank them f-for me."

Zuko was starting to feel his eyelids getting heavier and heavier by every minute and every breath he took. But he was trying to stay awake. Zuko knew that keeping his eyes open wouldn't prevent him from dying, but it felt like it helped to slow it down. "Why?" Katara asked him. What was he thanking them all for? "F-for for-forgiving m-me. An-And begin my-my fa-family."

"What about you tell them yourself?" She suggested, although she knew this to be impossible. Zuko let out something between a tired laugh and a groan, but Katara couldn't really tell which one. "I- I can't e-even make it ove-over to A-Appa." He felt every single breath begin harder to make and the words even harder. He was trying so hard staying alive. He wanted to stay alive. He wasn't ready to die yet.

Just when everything was going good, when he was finally happy, that all would be ripped from him by dying.

There were so many things he wanted to say and do.

Like, seeing the world in peace.

Helping his friends creating a new world that wouldn't be torn by the war.

He wanted to see everyone important him. Tell them all how thankful he was for everything.

Listen to his uncle's advice and not understand half of the things he said.

Laugh at Sokka's bad jokes, and beat him in sword fighting.

Train Aang, and see how he doesn't need it that much anymore.

To be able to see what Toph had in store for him for burning her feet.

Be scolded at by Katara for whatever reason she would make up.

Find his mother.

He would give up so much to do those things. But he knows he can't. And so he accepts his fate and closed his eyes. And with his last breath he says, "I'm sorry."

Sorry for what?

For dying? Chasing them down for so long? Leaving them? Betraying her in Ba Sing Se? Everything he did? But in the end, he really didn't have anything to be sorry for. Not anything that would matter anyways.

She stopped sobbing for a second to realize that Zuko's eyes were closed, he didn't move, and more importantly, he didn't breath. "Zuko?" His name caught in her throat. Her eyes widened when the reality hit her. Zuko was dead. "Zuko!" He wasn't waking up. "Zuko open your eyes now!" She commanded, but he didn't move, or answer. He just lied there, limply. "YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO DIE!" She yelled, now full on sobbing. Crying. Screaming at the world for begin so unfair.

"Please, open your eyes… Zuko open your eyes." Her hysterical sobs turned into quiet but desperate small ones as she laid her head on his chest, next to the wound.

She could hear Azula's cries turn into her laughing like a maniac somewhere behind her, but she didn't care.

Katara didn't know how long she had been there crying and hoping that she could've been a little bit faster, when she heard people coming. She quickly turned to look in the direction of the voice to see the fire sages. She stood up and looked at them. Their expressions were shocked, and before any of them could say anything, Katara said quietly. "Put her somewhere where she doesn't hurt anyone." One of the sages nodded, but Katara didn't care enough to notice who. After that she began to carry Zuko with her waterbending over to Appa.

When she was done with carrying Zuko on Appa, she took one glance towards Zuko's dead body before taking a shaking breath. "Yip, yip!" Katara said.

Zuko was so many things to her,

an enemy,

an ally,

a companion,

a friend,

a bestfriend.

He was part f her family now. But it was too late to tell him any of it now.

She cried until she didn't have any tears left. And even if she did, she would've cried for the dead.

* * *

A/N:

So this is my first story here and I don't expect it to be good, but I just wanted to get this out there.

Criticism is welcome, like any other review! Tell me if you want everyone's reaction. Bc I have some already written and probably will publish them any way at some point!

Thanks for reading this!

-TearsForTheDead-


	2. Chapter 2

**Answering your reviews!**

 **ManofManyHats: Thank you for pointing out the mistakes I had! And for telling what was good and etc. Glad that you liked! :D**

 **seahorse111: I'm not really sure what to say! Nobody has ever cried while reading my works! So I'm not sure if I'd have to say, Thank you, or I'm glad. Or like, what the hell? But I hoope you like it and will like this one too!**

 **Okay here's the chapter!**

As Appa landed there, where they left for the fight that Zuko never returned from, she could already see members of the White Lotus coming towards them. Including Iroh, the man who loved Zuko like a son.

Katara hopped down from Appa and just stood there, thinking of a good way to tell everyone.

"Hello Miss Katara. Where's my nephew?" Iroh asked as he stood in front of her. When Katara didn't give him an answer right away he asked again. "Where's Zuko?" That did it. She didn't know why. Maybe it was hearing his name. Or then just that, that Zuko was actually right behind them, but she couldn't help the new tears from coming again. "Miss Katara?" The excitement that was in his voice when he first asked her was now gone, and in it's place there was only concern.

She shook her head. "He- He's gone. Zuko's gone." She mumbled. "Azula shot her lightning at him." She could hear gasps from the members of the white lotus, she heard them from everyone else, except Iroh. She looked up from her feet to see Iroh staring at her like she just told him she was a firebending flying bison who had Momo's ears. "Wh-What?" Iroh asked in hope of hearing the young waterbender wrong. "Zuko's dead." And as much as it hurt fro her to say it, it hurt much more for Iroh to hear it. "He's up there." Katara weakly pointed at Appa. "Could someone bring him down from there?" She asked. Her new grandfather nodded and so did few others who started walking towards Appa, so that they could bring the dead prince down to his uncle.

Katara waited for the others outside the tent where Iroh and Zuko. She had stopped crying. She felt like even if there would be any tears left in her anymore, she couldn't allow herself to cry. Not when the others would come and be all happy and already celebrating their win in the war. She wanted them to have at least fun a little longer before she would tell them what had happened.

"Is Iroh still there?" asked Piandao who came to sit next to Katara. "Yeah. I bet he's not gonna leave his side anytime soon." She told him while looking at the ground.

"You know, I taught him how to fight with swords once." Piandao said after a while of silence. Katara's head shot up. "You did?" She asked surprised. The old swords master nodded smiling, probably at the memory of him teaching Zuko how to handle a sword. "He was around nine when he started and after he got banished he couldn't come anymore of course." He told her. "He and Sokka were my best students."

That made Katara smile slightly. But even that small smile disappeared when she saw her friends coming towards her. Piandao gave her a small, but sad smile before he got up and left her to tell everything to her friends.

Katara stood up. She sighed and started walking towards her friends. She put on a fake smile, more like a sad smile, than the happy one she was going for. She wanted to congratulate them before crushing their spirit.

"Aang did it! We saved he world!" Sokka exclaimed while leaning on Suki. Then he let go of her and started jumping on one foot towards Katara before giving her a bone crushing hug. "What happened to your leg?" Katara asked her brother. "Oh, it's nothing! There was just a small accident. I'm okay!" Sokka assured her. "But Twinkle Toes really did it. And even without killing him!" Toph said, ignoring Sokka.

And that, that Ozai made it through the war, the man who was going to destroy all the happiness, love, hope and peace, he survived because the Avatar gave him mercy, that something Ozai wouldn't have given to anyone! And then his own son, Zuko, who had fought so much to do the right thing and did the one of the hardest things anyone could do, he changed for good. He left his family, nation, everything behind just to teach the Avatar firebending so he could defeat the Fire Lord. A father who didn't love his son, family, or anything but himself. But Zuko died because he saved a life, and probably many more at the same time while saving that one, he died because of his crazy sister shot lightning at him! That just didn't seem fair to Katara, that Zuko died and Ozai didn't. That made her even more angry that she already was.

"WHAT?!" Katara yelled looking at Aang. And not in the _"What? Really? Good thing you left probably the world's most dangerous man alive!"_ way. But more like, _"What the hell were you thinking!? Do you understand that he is a cruel, cruel man who deserved to die!?"_

Katara normally didn't want people to die, even if they were bad, and she always wanted to see the good in people. But she was just so, so angry and sad, and there was just absolutely nothing good in Ozai. And to Katara he wasn't a person anymore. To her he was more like a monster.

"What? What's wrong?" Aang asked her. When she didn't answer him he asked another question. "Where's Zuko?"

"Yeah, where's sparky? I can't feel his heartbeat anywhere in here. Is he still at the palace or something?" Toph asked. Katara just shook her head. She couldn't feel his heartbeat. Katara almost laughed at how Toph had stated what she was struggling to tell them, so shortly but not even intentionally.

She continued to shake her head as she sat down on a close by rock. Sokka sat next to her. "What is it Katara?" He asked her.

"Zuko, he- he and Azula were fighting. Then Azula was going to shoot lightning at him, and he was ready to redirect it, but then she pointed it at me because I was so damn stupid to just stand there!" "Are you okay?" Aang asked quickly. Katara just did something between a shrug and a nod before continuing. "Zuko saw it and reacted quicker than I could. He jumped in front of it. He couldn't redirect it all. After I took care of Azula I went right over o Zuko but I was too late. I tried to heal him, but he didn't let me. Even if he would've… I couldn't have healed him. Not so that he would have lived long enough to make it here." Katara told them quietly.

They were all too shocked to move or say anything. Aang was the first one to say anything. "Katara, are you saying that-" He couldn't finish. He wasn't sure why he even asked, since they all knew the answer to be a yes. "Zuko died saving me." She told them. She was actually surprised that she started crying again. Katara was sure that she couldn't cry anymore. But she was proven wrong when the tears started falling, again.

Nobody moved.

Nobody talked.

Nobody looked at each other.

They did nothing.

They just stood there, unable to do anything.

"Where is he?" Suki was the first one to break the heavy silence that had fallen over them. "In that tent." Katara said pointing at the tent behind them.

They all walked in. First thing they saw was Iroh holding his nephew's hand, like he was still sure that Zuko would open his eyes and give them all one of his rare smiles. But he didn't. And he wouldn't.

"Iroh, can I talk to you?" Katara asked silently. Iroh looked at her, down again then back at her and stood up almost forgetting to let go of Zuko's hand.

"Yes?" Iroh asked her when they got out of the tent. "Zuko asked me to tell you that you should open your tea shop. And that you should find someone else to be the Fire Lord. He knew you wouldn't be happy if you would have to be it." Iroh nodded. He looked down, waiting a while before turning to go back inside the tent but stopped when he heard her start talking again. "He also asked me to tell you that he loves you." That made the old general cry. But he also smiled. Not a sad smile, but a happy one. "Thank you for telling me." Iroh told her. "No problem." Before he could leave Katara said one more thing. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." She heard him say before he disappeared into the tent.

Katara knew it, but didn't believe it.

Zuko's last words were _"I'm sorry."_

But she wasn't able to say anything back to him.

Not a "I'm sorry."

But that wasn't even what she wanted to say to him. Because he knew she was sorry. And that she forgave him.

And even when she didn't know what he was sorry for. She wanted to say to him something that would've let him know that whatever he was sorry for didn't have to follow him to his grave. So she said those words aloud in hopes of Zuko somehow hearing them.

"It wasn't your fault."

 **A/N: Okay, that was hard to write, but still liked to write it.**

 **I hope there is not any mistakes in this, or, you know, many mistakes. In the last one there was a lot of them, but I corrected them.  
There will be few more chapters, just the characters' reactions, like Iroh, Sokka, Aang, Toph, etc. You probably already notched that this was like Katara's reaction and thought of Zuko's death. So, yeah...**

 **I hope you enjoined this. (Or you know, liked reading it) Criticism is more than welcome, so is other kind of feed back!**

 **-TearsForTheDead-**


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